Device for winding and unwinding hot-rolled pre-strips consisting of hot metal

ABSTRACT

The aim of the invention is to configure a device for winding and unwinding partly rolled products, in a way that ensures the smallest possible accumulation of scrap. To achieve this, a roller ( 20, 20′, 20 ″) whose position is controlled and which runs on the periphery of the coil is used during the transfer of the coils from the winding station to the unwinding station. The vertical adjustment of said roller ensures that the coil is completely unwound, even with a diminishing coil diameter.

The invention concerns equipment for the optional coiling of partlyrolled product, uncoiling and transfer of the formed coils, or forallowing the partly rolled product to pass through uncoiled, with a setof bending rolls, which produces a downward bend in the rolled productpassing through it, with a roller table, whose drive rolls support thecoiling operation and effect uncoiling operations and further conveyanceof formed coils to free the coiling position, and with a drive unit thatconveys partly rolled product that is passing through or that has beenuncoiled.

DE-OS 25 19 988 discloses equipment for coiling and uncoiling hot-rolledhot-metal pre-strips, by means of which hot-rolled pre-strip can becoiled without a mandrel in position and with which the coiled coil canbe raised from the coiling position into an uncoiling position by meansof an arm that engages the eye of the coil. Even before the transfer andduring the transfer operation, the pre-strip is uncoiled from the coil,so that at least the regions of the pre-strip that are in the eye of thecoil uncoil on the arm and can be damaged there, with the result that alarge amount of scrap is produced.

It has also already been proposed that the coiled coils be moved orrolled over the roller table into the uncoiling position from thecoiling position by means of rolls that can be placed on the outerperiphery of the coil and swiveled by means of levers.

However, this transfer movement is uncontrolled, so that the coil rollsagainst stops arranged in the uncoiling position, which can lead todamage of the outer turn of the coil, before the coil drops into itspredetermined uncoiling position.

During the uncoiling, the diminishing coil can be pulled out of theuncoiling position by the force of the drive unit that is drawing itoff. The remainder of the coil is then pulled under the stop into thedrive unit, where several turns of the coil may then pass through thedrive unit together, or jamming and shutdown of the system may occur.Here again, large amounts of scrap may be produced.

Coil transfer equipment has also already been proposed, in which thecoils are transferred from the coiling position to the uncoilingposition by corresponding tipping or lifting of the roller table rolls.The problems associated with drawing off the coil, especially as itbecomes smaller, could not be solved here, either.

EP 0,933,147 A, which describes equipment of this general type,discloses a retaining roll, but its only purpose is to hold down thelast turn to ensure the orderly entry of the pre-strip into thefinishing train. During the transport of the coil from the coilingstation to the uncoiling station and during the start of the uncoilingoperation, the pre-strip may still suffer damage, and thus scrap maystill be produced.

The objective of the invention is to refine equipment of this generaltype in such a way that cost-effective operation of the equipment isensured and that as little scrap as possible is produced during theoperation.

This objective is achieved by providing at least one roll, which runs onthe periphery of the coil that is to be transferred or has beentransferred into the uncoiling position and holds the coil in theuncoiling position. In this operation, the roll ensures that the coil issafely transferred to the uncoiling position without rolling beyond itagainst stops, and that the coil remains securely in the uncoilingposition during its entire uncoiling phase, so that the end portion ofthe coil cannot reach the drive unit that follows. If the rolls of theroller table and the rolls that support the periphery of the coil aresimultaneously designed to be power-driven to move in the runningdirection of the partly rolled product, then the roll running on theperiphery of the coil can protect the coil from unwanted movements inthe running direction of the partly rolled product even during thetransfer movement from the coiling position to the uncoiling position.

If the support rolls are arranged in a common carriage, and the carriagecan be moved in the running direction of the partly rolled product, thisensures that the coil does not have to be moved or rolled over severalrolls of a roller table, so that significantly less damage of the outerturns of the coil will occur.

It was found to be advantageous, if the support rolls can also be movedvertically by at least one drive and can be lowered as the coil diameterdecreases, and in this case the drive is equipped with a control device,which vertically lowers the support rolls as a function of the coildiameter and/or the uncoiled length and/or the uncoiling time. Thisallows optimum adaptation of the support position of the support rollsto the coil diameters, so that even coil diameters that have becomeextremely small can still be reliably supported.

To prevent even more reliably the partly rolled product that is beinguncoiled from being drawn into the drive unit, it was found to beeffective, to lower a lever onto the partly rolled product that isrunning off the coil. The lever has an idler roll, which rests on thepartly rolled product, and a support roll, which is positioned at ahigher level and rests against the periphery of the coil.

Another possibility for ensuring that the partly rolled product iscompletely uncoiled from the coil before it reaches the drive unit isachieved by providing mandrels, which can be inserted in the eye of acoil, on each side of the roller table in the end position of the eye ofthe coil that is to be uncoiled. The mandrels can be inserted in the eyeof the remainder of the coil as a function of the coil diameter and/orthe uncoiled length and/or the uncoiling time. Rolls are arranged on themandrels and, when necessary, can be driven at uncoiling speed topreclude damage to the partly rolled product.

The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to aspecific embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the equipment ofthe invention for coiling/uncoiling partly rolled product.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the equipment ofthe invention with a lever that can be lowered onto the partly rolledproduct.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the equipment ofthe invention with mandrels that can be inserted into the coil.

FIG. 1 shows a coiling station 1 and an uncoiling station 2 for partlyrolled strip product 3. The coiling station 1 is a mandrel-less downwardcoiler of a type that is already well known, in which the strip 3entering the coiling station 1 is deflected upward over entry rolls 4,4′. Downward curvature is imparted to the strip 3 by the bending rolls5, 5′, 5″. The strip 3 is wound into a coil in the coiling chamber 8formed by the rolls 6, 6′ and 7, 7′.

Both the entry rolls 4 and roll 7′ can be lowered from the raisedpositions shown in the drawing to the level of roll 6′ and the rollertable roll 9. In this position, the rolls 4, 9, 6′, 7 and 7′ form aroller table, by which the strip 3 can be guided through the coilingstation 1 without being deflected.

The coiling station is equipped with a strip coil opener 10, which,after the coil has been wound in the coiling chamber 8, and thedirection of rotation of the driven rolls 7, 7′ has been reversed, canbe swiveled against the coil to open it with the peeling tool 11 andguide the leading end of the strip to the uncoiling station 2.

The uncoiling station 2 comprises a carriage 12 and a column 13, whichsupports the drive rolls 14, 14′, 14″ of the drive unit 16. The driverolls 14, 14′, 14″ can be adjusted by a piston-cylinder unit 15. Adisplacement cylinder 17 for the carriage 12 is provided on the column13. In addition, a roll 20 is pivoted on the column 13 on an elbow lever21 and can be adjusted in its horizontal direction by a piston-cylinderunit 18 and in its vertical direction by a piston-cylinder unit 19. Thecolumn 13 also has a roller table roll 22, by which the strip 3 can befed to the drive unit 16.

Driven rolls 23, 23′ are arranged on the carriage 12 and can drive thecoil 24 to perform an uncoiling movement.

The equipment in FIG. 1 can be operated to allow the strip to passstraight through. For this purpose, the rolls 4, 7, 7′ and 23, 23′ mustbe lowered to the level of the roller table, so that these rolls androlls 6′ and 22 form a roller table, over which the strip 3 can rundirectly to the drive unit 16 from the inlet of the coiling station 1.

However, the strip 3 is usually guided by the entry rolls 4, 4′ and thebending rolls 5, 5′, 5″ into the coiling chamber 8, in which it is woundinto a coil. At the start of the coiling operation, the roll 7′ is stillpositioned in the raised position shown in the drawing. As soon asseveral turns of the coil have been wound, the roll 7′ is lowered to thelevel of the roller table, and the coil is then supported only by thedriven rolls 7, 7′. This position is then maintained until the coil iscompletely wound.

The finished coil, which had been driven clockwise during the coilingoperation, is now driven counterclockwise by reversing the direction ofrotation of the driven rolls 7, 7′. At the same time, the strip coilopener 10 is swiveled against the coil, so that the former trailing endof the strip is now peeled off the coil as the leading end of the stripand fed to the drive unit 16. In the meantime, the displacement cylinder17 has been extended, so that the carriage 12, which no longer holds acoil 24, is moved up to the roll 7′. At the same time, the roll 20 isswiveled by the piston-cylinder units 18, 19 towards the coiling station1 and into a position against or almost against the coil that is locatedthere.

As soon as the drive unit 16 has gripped the strip 3, the roll 7 israised to transfer the coil out of the coiling station 1 onto the rolls23, 23′ of the carriage 12 and into the uncoiling station 2. In thisconnection, the roll 20, which, if necessary, can be swiveled backtowards the column 13 during the transfer operation, ensures that thecoil 24 cannot roll beyond the roll 23′.

The carriage 12 and the roll 20 are then moved towards the column 13, sothat the coiling station 1 is freed for the coiling of a new coil. Asthe coil 24 in the uncoiling station 2 becomes smaller, the roll 20 canbe vertically adjusted by the piston-cylinder unit 19 in such a way thateven a very small end portion of the coil can be reliably supported bythe roll 20, so that the end portion of the coil cannot be drawn intothe drive unit 16.

FIG. 2 shows a roll 20′, which is similar to roll 20, but which can beadjusted basically only horizontally by a piston-cylinder unit 18′. Toprevent the end portion of the coil 24′ from being drawn into the driveunit 16′, a lever 25 is provided, which can be swiveled towards thestrip 3′ by a piston-cylinder unit 26. The lever 25 has rolls 27, 28, ofwhich the idler roll 27 can be swiveled against the roller table roll22′, and the roller table roll 22′ and the idler roll 27 enclose thestrip 3′ between them. The support roll 28 is arranged at the tip of thelever 25 in such a way that it rests against the end portion of the coil24′ without touching the strip 3′ in the drive unit entry region.

FIG. 3 shows another alternative, which ensures that the coil 24″ iscompletely unwound. Here again, the roll 20″, which can be swiveledbasically in the horizontal direction, ensures that the coil remainssecurely on the carriage 12″. A mandrel 29 is provided on the column 13″on each side of the roller table and the carriage 12″, and a roll 30 isprovided on each mandrel. As the uncoiling operation progresses, as soonas the coil 24″ becomes sufficiently small that it becomes possible toinsert the rolls 30 in the eye 31 of the coil 24″, which (eye 31) dropslower and lower as the diameter of the coil decreases, the mandrel 29 ispushed into the eye 31 of the coil from both sides. The rolls 30arranged on the mandrels 29 ensure that the coil 24″ is held on thecarriage 12″ until it has been completely uncoiled.

The control and monitoring devices necessary for pushing in the mandrels29, driving the rolls 30, and moving the rolls 20, the carriage 12 andthe rolls 7, 7′ are not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The carriage (12, 12′, 12″) and the support rolls (20, 20′, 20″) canhave a common displacement drive, or their drives can be coupled.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   1 coiling station-   2 uncoiling station-   3 strip-   4 entry rolls-   5 bending rolls-   6 rolls-   7 rolls-   8 coiling chamber-   9 roller table roll-   10 strip coil opener-   11 peeling tool-   12 carriage-   13 column-   14 drive rolls-   15 piston-cylinder unit-   16 drive unit-   17 displacement cylinder-   18 piston-cylinder unit-   19 piston-cylinder unit-   20 roll-   21 elbow lever-   22 roller table roll-   23 roll-   24 coil-   25 lever-   26 piston-cylinder unit-   27 idler roll-   28 support roll-   29 mandrel-   30 roll-   31 coil eye

1. Equipment for the optional coiling of partly rolled strip (3)product, transfer and uncoiling of the formed coils (24), or forallowing the partly rolled product to pass through uncoiled, with a setof bending rolls (5, 5′, 5″), which produces a downward bend in therolled product passing through it, with a roller table (6, 7, 9), whosedrive rolls support the coiling operation and effect uncoilingoperations and further conveyance of formed coils to free the coilingposition, and with a drive unit (16) that conveys partly rolled productthat is passing through or that has been uncoiled, wherein at least onesupport roll (20, 20′, 20″) is provided, which runs on the periphery ofthe coil (24, 24′, 24″) that is to be transferred and/or has beentransferred into the uncoiling position and holds the coil in theuncoiling position, wherein rolls (23, 23′) are provided that supportand rotationally drive the coils (24, 24′; 24″) that are to be uncoiledand the rolls (23, 23′) and the at least one support roll (20, 20′, 20″)that supports the periphery of the coils can be simultaneously powerdriven to move in a running direction of the partly rolled product, andfurther comprising at least one drive (19) for moving the at least onesupport roll (20, 20′, 20″) vertically, wherein the at least one drive(19) is equipped with a control device, which vertically lowers thesupport roll (20) as a function of the coil diameter and/or an uncoiledlength and/or an uncoiling time.
 2. Equipment in accordance with claim1, wherein the support rolls (23, 23′) for the coils are arranged in acommon carriage (12, 12′, 12″), and the carriage (12, 12′, 12″) isarranged to be movable in the running direction of the partly rolledproduct.
 3. Equipment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the carriage(12, 12′, 12″) and the at least one support roll (20, 20′, 20″) have acommon displacement drive, or their drives are coupled.
 4. Equipment inaccordance with claim 1, wherein a lever (25) can be lowered onto thepartly rolled product (strip 3′) that is running off the coil, and thatthe lever has an idler roll (27), which rests on the partly rolledproduct (3′), and a support roll (28), which is positioned at a higherlevel and rests against the periphery of the coil (24′).
 5. Equipment inaccordance with claim 4, wherein the lever (25) can be lowered as afunction of the coil diameter and/or the uncoiled length and/or theuncoiling time.
 6. Equipment in accordance with claim 1, whereinmandrels (29) are provided on both sides of the roller table in the endposition of the eye (31) of a coil (24″) that is to be uncoiled and canbe inserted in the eye.
 7. Equipment in accordance with claim 6, whereinthe mandrels (29) can be inserted in the eye (31) of the end portion ofthe coil (24″) as a function of the coil diameter and/or the uncoiledlength and/or the uncoiling time.